New Orleans' first food market was an informal open-air facility located on the levee in the area above the present-day
Jackson Square. Around the year 1782 the Spanish erected the city's first market building on the corner of Chartres and
Dumaine Streets and in 1790 relocated it to a site on what is now Decatur Street between St. Ann and Dumaine. A
series of hurricanes destroyed several early structures at this location , but the building erected in 1813 as the Meat
Market has survived to the present. It was built by Gurlie and Guillot based on designs drawn by the City Surveyor,
Jacques Tanesse.

Several years later, in 1822, the new City Surveyor, Joseph Pilie, designed a building for use as a Vegetable Market.
This building, which also remains standing, was constructed in two phases beginning in 1822 (by Jean Felix Pinson) and
ending in 1830. Around the year 1833 several buildings, known collectively as the Red Stores, were put up in the space
between the Vegetable Market and the levee. During the middle years of the century a bazaar-type market grew up
between the Meat and Vegetable Markets. Around 1872 the city erected a new Bazaar Market facility to house this
activity.

Beginning in the colonial period the city selected private contractors or farmers to collect Market revenues. This
contractor, usually chosen through a bid process, was authorized to collect specified fees from individual stall-holders in
return for monthly payments to the city treasury. The city also established sanitary and other regulations to be enforced
by the Market commissaries and other officials. At various times the city's markets came under the control of umbrella
agencies such as the Department of Police and Public Buildings in 1883 and the Department of Public Property in 1912.
By 1931 a separate Division of Public Markets was established within the Department of Public Property.

In 1932, however, the city proposed, through ordinance 18693 CCS, to negotiate a new franchise agreement for the
operation and physical improvement of the French Market. Members of the French Market Business Men's Association
responded to this proposal by organizing, on August 23, 1932, the French Market Corporation. The city, though
ordinance 14182 in 1934, accepted the French Market Corporation's bid for the franchise and assigned to it the
privilege of operating the Market.

The immediate task facing the Corporation was the rehabilitation and modernization of the Market's buildings and
facilities. Architectural plans were drawn by the firm of Sam Stone and Co. and financing was arranged through a joint
effort of the Corporation, area businessmen, the City government, the Orleans Levee Board, and the Public Works
Administration. Construction began in 1936 with Gervais Favrot and Co. as the major contractor. In addition to
rehabilitating the existing buildings the project included demolition of the remains of the Bazaar Market (seriously
damaged by the 1915 hurricane) and the erection of a new Fruit and Vegetable Market on its site; demolition of the
remaining Red Store buildings; and construction of a wholesale fish market shed along the levee near the Meat Market.
The project also succeeded in consolidating the area's wholesale fruit and vegetable business into a centralized facility.
This was accomplished by the demolition of existing buildings on the river side of Gallatin St. (now French Market
Place) and the construction of the steel sheds known as the Farmers' Market.

A nine-member board of directors carried out the redevelopment project and guided the subsequent operation of the
market facilities. It was, however, unable to adequately handle the financial end of the responsibilities and in 1939 the
city government had to bail out the Corporation by repaying its outstanding debts. As a result the city in effect took over
the French Market Corporation, becoming its sole stockholder. The city then proceeded to lease the Market's operations
back to the Corporation. Difficulties continued and in 1943 a new lease arrangement was worked out, allowing the
Corporation to operate the Market for a term of fifty years. Through a further agreement the Corporation subleased the
Market back to the city for an annual payment of $20,000.

In 1971, faced with continuing financial difficulties and the need for a renewed program of renovation, the city, through
ordinance 4745 MCS, entered into a new forty year lease with the Corporation. Under this arrangement the city was to
receive all profits from the French Market Corporation's operations. Two years later the city reorganized the body into a
non-profit corporation with a twelve member board to be appointed by the Mayor, who is the Corporation's sole
stockholder. The Mayor also appoints the Market's executive director, assistant director, and attorney.

Shortly after its creation the new French Market Corporation embarked on a second major renovation of the Market
buildings. This was financed by the sale in 1973 of $3.2 million in revenue bonds. The project accomplished extensive
renovation of the existing structures along with the demolition of the wholesale fish market and the construction of two
new buildings--the Halles des Cuisines and a new Red Stores complex. Due to insufficient funds, however, the
Farmers' Market was dedicated on April 1, 1975.

Since that time the French Market Corporation has had mixed financial success. The opening of a new French Market
parking lot in 1977 and the Corporation's takeover of the popular Flea Market operation in 1979 both helped to improve
the facility's profits. The subsequent transfer to the Corporation of responsibility for custodial and security services in
Washington Artillery Park, the Moonwalk, and Jackson Square, however, made it necessary for the city to appropriate
over $170,000 in the 1982 budget to enable the Corporation to carry out new tasks.

Scope Note and Arrangement

The records of the French Market Corporation consist of the following:

Surveys, reports, etc., 1938-1979. (KTA150; KTA202; KTA631; KTA950)
Printed documents prepared by or for the Corporation dealing with such subjects as economic analyses of Market
activities, security operations, proposed renovations, merchandizing, the proposed Regional Food Distribution Center;
the history of the Market. For complete bibliographic information, consult one of the archivists.

Minutes of the Board of Directors, 1946-1970. 2 vols, typewritten. (KTA300)
Official minutes, many signed by the individual directors. Occasional letters are attached. For additional, later copies of
minutes, see OVF KTA301.

General journal, 1936-1969. 1 vol., manuscript. (KTA440)
Chronological statement of amounts to be credited or debited to individual ledger accounts.